9/11 Victims' Fund Bill Passes Senate

Victory!!

The Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill to ensure a victims' compensation fund related to the Sept. 11 attacks never runs out of money, fulfilling a pledge made by President Trump and ending years of uncertainty as the fund rapidly depleted. Lawmakers sent the bill to President Trump's desk after a 97-2 vote in favor of the legislation. Only two Republicans, Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee, voted no.

Source
10 billion over 10 years, not just for the direct victims but their families as well. Sounds like a lot of money yes, but in the big picture not so much. If we can spend 45 billion a year in Afghanistan, then....

Kudos to Stewart, who yes chose to be a face for this movement, like him or not, he at least brought more attention and passion to the issue. It is refreshing when a celebrity uses their status for something genuine and beneficial to our country and transcends partisanship.

Here he was yesterday -

Here was the live stream hearing.

Before anybody trashes Rand Paul. He’s my senator and I have supported him since he ran for office. I’ve looked into his background all the way back to college. He sticks to his guns. Even in his college newspaper he was proponent of smaller government, less taxes and reduced spending .

His vote against the 9/11 funding was symbolic in order to show people he still maintains his principal of fiscal responsibility . He’s not the least bit concerned with the optics .

Good people stand behind their words to sleep well at night .

I’m torn on this
I’m not being an asshole but why should taxpayers be billed for this tragedy?
Why shouldn’t those killed in drive bys or even car accidents receive the same level of compensation?
Weren’t 19 of the hijackers Saudi? Why aren’t they paying?

Unless the US government is responsible this just seems like more virtue signalling to me

What!? All this money because some people did something?

Another election promise kept!

ETA: It does seem quite disproportionate compared to other tragedies and sets a potentially dangerous precedent in regards to public funding compensating victims of tragedies where the government is not directly responsible. By the same premise this type of compensation should also be applicable to those affected by school/mass shootings.

a reply to: Fallingdown

Yea yea Rand. I agree with you on his integrity, integrity handed down from father to son. I have no doubt that his vote was well considered and his decision was not made lightly.

originally posted by: IkNOwSTuff
I’m torn on this.

Yeah, there are plenty of other victims of crimes that are basically told to go fish by the government. Of course, this is a high-profile political thing, and that's going to grab the eyeballs. But what about some poor kid who gets shot in a drive-by in Detroit because there aren't enough police to keep things under control? Or somebody who lost their house in the flooding in the Midwest this spring? Or whoever?

If I was a conservative, I'd be tempted to remind people that the government is not in the business of being anybody's insurance company. It's there to create a stable nation where people can be free to pursue their own dreams and gather wealth and property and they should protect themselves accordingly. After all, weren't many of these responders city or county employees with good pay and protection?

On the other hand, compassion, even if it isn't exactly "fair."

I did kinda like Rand Paul at first, but he was not up to the job when he got the speaker position. Sounds like Rand corp got Rand Paul.

His dad Ron Paul was a good rock, maybe not the smartest man but has good principles.

I don't know Mike Lee, don't really want to either but there is no escape from the light.

originally posted by: Fallingdown
Before anybody trashes Rand Paul. He’s my senator and I have supported him since he ran for office. I’ve looked into his background all the way back to college. He sticks to his guns. Even in his college newspaper he was proponent of smaller government, less taxes and reduced spending .

His vote against the 9/11 funding was symbolic in order to show people he still maintains his principal of fiscal responsibility . He’s not the least bit concerned with the optics .

Good people stand behind their words to sleep well at night .

I'm uninformed on this but I don't understand not helping the first responders. Fiscal responsibility doesn't entail not helping people like veterans, national emergency responders, and the like...

How it's divvied out may be a thing, but not receiving it is abysmal. In my opinion.

a reply to: waftist

Awesome!

Ty john stewart.

I like this, this is a good thing.

This is to help those that ran into the aftermath to save the victims. This is a HERO fund*.
* (Others are also benefiting.)

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

One of my favorite political quotes ever came from him during his 2016 presidential run . When the moderators asked him about the Second Amendment .

He said it during those 37.32 seconds he got to talk in the few debates they allowed him in. 😡

“ I don’t want my guns or marriage registered in Washington “

I liked it more for the humor. The meaning just happened to fit like a hobo on a ham sandwich .

a reply to: waftist

Who divvy's up the $10 Billion over 10 years? DeBlasio? Hope not.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Bernie Sanders is a person of character and integrity like that. Unwavering and solid.

a reply to: Fallingdown

Yeah, but it's ok to give him the middle finger every so often.

I backed Rand Paul more than any other candidate during 2016.

I guess there's nothing in there for all the millions and millions of people who have lost their rights as a direct result of the government's overblown reaction to 9/11.